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Frequently asked questions about the webinar on mandatory reporting in Germany

Thank you for participating in our webinar on mandatory reporting in Germany! Here you will find an overview of the most important questions and answers that were asked during the event. Our aim is to give you a clear insight into the upcoming requirements and practical solutions.

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FAQ's Webinar April 2025

From 01.01.2025, the serial numbers of the TSE units must also be listed in the signature in Germany, when will this be implemented at efsta?
Does your Simple Bill solution already have ISO certification?
Will there be a charge for using external cash registers?
Do I record a "replacement cash register" as a "third-party cash register" while the actual cash register is being repaired? Or does the customer have to make a new report each time - use a replacement cash register and then exchange it back with the repaired cash register?
We currently have MSPOS as the taxable person. Do we as the end customer have to adjust this?
The XML file is only generated when all details are "complete". How can gaps be detected. 170 stores 1 - 12 checkouts per store.
Will the mass notification also work for companies with different operating companies, i.e. tax numbers?
When will the "mass message" be published?
As far as I understand, cash registers that you have in your possession that are not in use/inactive must be functional, i.e. the TSE AND the cash register software must work. As soon as one of the two conditions is not met, the cash register is not functional and therefore not subject to reporting. Is this correct?
Does the efsta portal provide feedback on missing / inconsistent master data?
Can several mail recipients be entered for the download link?
Can the download link be generated again later?
How can the possession of replacement funds without a TSE be reported if the HTM file can only be created if the data is complete?
Hello, does efsta have an official price list (for Germany and Austria) in which all costs are listed?
We currently receive an email EVERY Monday with links from ALL sites (over 600 links). How can we determine which reportable changes have occurred at these sites compared to the previous week? It is currently incomprehensible that there should have been reportable changes at all our sites every week.
What does functional cash register mean for replacement cash registers in stock? As long as a hardware is not supplied with the corresponding software, we consider the cash register to be non-functional.
Does this mean that the UAT/TEST/TRAININGS system from OPERA Cloud is also a separate (test) cash register?
The property includes a warehouse - cash registers from closures - spare parts dispensers - replacement devices for damage (some in original packaging). Stock is also held for stores abroad. How must a report be made here?
Do all customers of a cash register operator have to register with efsta / My Elster or is it sufficient that only the cash register operator registers and the declaration then runs via the automatic service?
Regarding the recording of the serial number: When using the VM, which serial number can be communicated as several instances may be running on the hardware?
Is it possible for customers with offline licenses to use the efsta reporting support?
The efsta archiving feature means that the fiscalization data is transferred online to the portal or is there something else?
I have different. S/N in the cash register, e.g. the cash register itself or the hard disk, which one do I have to enter?
Which values are to be entered for the attributes serial number, software, manufacturer and model of the eA if POS software is used on a Windows PC? Do I have to enter details of the POS software or the Windows PC hardware?
Which serial number must / can be recorded? From the storage location of the data or from the capture location (for mobile devices)?
If you have used the TSE simulation for testing on a test system, the BSIID field in the fiscal message remains empty and cannot be written to. This means that the XML can never be completed or downloaded. Would it be possible to make the XML incompletely downloadable for cash registers marked as test?
Under which selector in efsta are individual cash registers recorded? Where can I find instructions on how to do this?
Is it possible to create multiple Elster contacts?
About the locations: How should the following example be handled? One server PC, so one EFR installation but several campsites within one software, means per campsite there is one cash register, but runs via the same UID (company) via the same EFR service, in one software. Do the campsites have to be considered as separate locations or are there several cash registers for the same location?
Do I also have to report cash registers at a branch abroad?
Will the recording of the meeting be available to the participants afterwards?
Is this something that can be done entirely from the efsta portal by downloading XML from efsta and manually uploading it into myELSTER by the taxable client, without the need for integration with the POS system to send this data?
Creating locations in the efsta portal:
At the moment we add the location data directly via the API access to the portal. Could we also create the location via the EFR i.e. we add the location data like address etc in the EFR on EFR activation and that would then create the location data in the portal), now it is only linked via the location field.
How is the message sent when a cash register is added or removed from a location, e.g. if we have three cash registers at a location and remove one of them - the XML file will still contain all the cash registers if I am not mistaken?
If the company uses a completely cashless environment, i.e. only bank cards/credit cards, no cash transactions, are TSE and the corresponding reports still required?
If customers have switched from efsta to another solution in the first half of 2025, i.e. between the beginning of 2025 and July 2025, and have deactivated the efsta EFR to switch to another solution, are they then also obliged to submit the Elster declaration or are they covered by your new solution?
If customers have switched from efsta to another solution in the first half of 2025, i.e. between the beginning of 2025 and July 2025, and have deactivated the efsta EFR to switch to another solution, are they then also obliged to submit the Elster declaration or are they covered by your new solution?

FAQ's Webinar December 2024

This does not apply to systems that are in stock at retailers? (Obligation to report unproductive tills)
Does it concern test systems that are used for employee training and testing of hiring options?
Is the default Elster contact empty? We want to avoid customers receiving emails if not all data has been entered correctly.
How does the reporting system behave in the case of an offline license? Or in the case of an offline cash register?
Before we have checked and completed all the data, does it make sense to send the XML file from 13.01.?
Is it possible to generate XML on your own request? Via the efsta portal. Or is the only way to receive it by email?
Do we provide an API method that makes it possible to store the button for manually generating the XML in the UI so that each customer can also take action themselves?
Do you know whether a mass notification of all permanent establishments is planned in the same way as a recapitulative statement?
Mass data maintenance possible in future?
Creation of the notification
Download of the XML
Currently always individually per location and a 3-step procedure
Download notification
Liability committee to be ticked each time
Create notification
Download notification
Idea: Multiple ticking/pre-selection
There was also talk of an interface to Elster with the BSI, is this still in the pipeline or will this always remain a manual upload?
How can we enter the contact details in the "Elster report" for companies that have several locations, each with a different tax number, if the system only allows a single tax number to be entered? (The locations are all assigned to one company).
We currently operate around 1000 POS systems and have a reserve pool of around 30 systems that can be personalized as required. The question for us is: How many days after delivery of the POS systems to our company do they have to be put into operation on the software side at the latest? As these are replacement systems and we operate several companies and sales locations, the final destination of the checkouts is not yet known at the time of delivery.
Can the notification also be made without TSE?
Is it possible to transfer the e-mail addresses for invoicing as Elster contact?
The history of the last 5 years is reported in the initial XML report for each permanent establishment. What does a change report look like (e.g. change of a TSE)? Is only the change contained in the XML?
Is it possible for the mails to be sent to the end customer in CC to the retailer in charge?
Is it possible to export the stored TSE data from the EFR to a file for offline cash registers in order to avoid typing errors?
Test systems must be reported - what is the situation internally? We also have our program on the computer, etc.?
We use cloud TSE and have no physical terminals - do we need to fill in this section?
Is there an efsta portal API endpoint for filling out terminal and taxable customer data?
You mentioned that the deadline for reporting existing registers is 17.03.25, is that correct? Do previously closed locations also have to be reported?
If this would be legally feasible, are you planning to automatically upload XML files from cash registers to the MeinElster portal in the future?
Do you already have provisional dates for the aforementioned webinars in 2025?
So if I replace a cash register in one of our hotels, do I have 30 days to report the data of the new cash register?

FAQ's Webinar November 2024

How can the cash register data be contained in the same XML file as that of the PMS if a different provider is used?
What counts as a new system? A physical new cash register or also a repair of the cash register (new installation) with a new EFR module number but identical TSE certificate?
How is the serial number of the cash register or the TSE determined by efsta - TSE = EFR number or TSE number?
Test systems are located in Denmark in a company that does not have Elster access - how should we report them?
How is the report submitted if a taxpayer operates several permanent establishments / locations under one tax number? Multiple reporting in several XML files or several permanent establishments in one file? How are the permanent establishments differentiated in the XML file?
Does the data have to be regularly uploaded to ELSTER? Or is the initial upload sufficient?
In variant 2 you recommend that the taxable customer has access to the portal. Is this still recommended if the organization has >X customers?
Can the user rights be restricted so that the customer only has access to the XML file?
Can we have an example of the email with XML, with several hundred cash registers per taxpayer it must be possible to assign the XML to the location without going into the XML.
Since when has communication regarding serial number, software version, etc. between cash register and EFR module been part of the interface definition?
Do you share the slide deck with us?
When exporting for several companies in csv - are the Austrian companies filtered out? Because we don't need the information in this form for them.
What is meant by "cash register serial number"? What data is required and expected here?
Can the XML file be adapted by EFSTA and then uploaded to my Elster?
We have new software versions approximately every two months, do we also have to report this?
If the cash register data can be entered manually in ELSTER, then filling in the data in the "Terminal" tab in the efsta portal is optional?
What kind of group "Comet" are you in? Is there any more information?
In the ElsterData CSV file for checking, does there have to be something under each column for it to work or are there only certain mandatory fields?
In other words, if I have understood the future procedure correctly, the email addresses we have defined for each location will receive an email with XML when a cash register has been put into or taken out of operation? And then the Elster declaration can be made?
1. does the data in the csv file from the download correspond to the final export in the xml file?
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2. designation Pos Software and Pos Model as "XXX Server" the same, no version number necessary? The DE_SW_Version is apparently not exported?

3. Pos Manufacturer "Software Server" sufficient? Shouldn't the software manufacturer be listed there?

4. Is a new EFR required for the customer's cash register report from January?
"All electronic recording systems of a permanent establishment" - so does each store have to do this individually or does the company have to create one file for all stores?
We buy regular computers and then use cloud POS system software on them. Of course, we have some replacement devices in stock. Would these only be subject to reporting if the TSE were purchased (in this case, e.g. Fiskaly) as it is not a ready-made POS system with an integrated security device?
It was mentioned in the presentation that the number of devices connected to the POS system must be reported.
This number can change regularly, especially for systems with mobile devices. Are "registration updates" necessary every few weeks or is this even planned?
The special characters are displayed in the portal as ? - what about the export to MyElster?
Do sub-suppliers who buy the cash registers from the manufacturer and then sell them on to the stores also have to report their number of cash registers?
Which data should we prioritize in the 1st step? Is it the data under Company Properties Details? Do I understand correctly that the customer receives the link to the XML export at the e-mail address entered under "Elster report"?
In our setup, the POS system is completely in the cloud and the end devices at the customer are only input devices. Is the number of tills then 1?
If the PMS and the cash registers are currently organized in the portal under different companies, but ultimately belong to the same company, how can 1 xml per location be created here?
The terminal data is not visible in the portal, but is sent from the POS via the EFR. Why is it not visible in the portal?
How often do the XML files have to be transmitted? Monthly or only when changes are made to the terminals?
Which terminal/branch position is required on the terminal part? Are they branch numbers/addresses or should they be consecutive, e.g. 1/2/3 etc.?
What happens if we carry out a software update, e.g. from version 2.1 to version 2.2? Do we then have to update the XML file for each customer? The same question arises for new/replaced devices.
Is there no way to connect to the MeinElster and send this directly?
Are customers informed of these deadlines by the tax authorities?
In the presentation, the deadline varied between 31.07. and 30.06. Which is correct?
Where can we find this presentation and the section with the questions and answers?
Just to clarify, will a step-by-step guide be provided for the process of exporting the required information from the EFSTA portal?
Migration from USB TSE to Cloud TSE - Some customers are still using USB TSE. I assume a migration to the cloud is recommended. Would the data on the USB stick be migrated and transferred to the cloud?
Do we face a fine if all this information is not completed by January 1, 2025, or do we have until June 2025 to do all this?
XML file upload - If the XML file is automatically uploaded by efsta, this is not possible if PMS uses a different financial system and will result in a manual update. Would the client have to upload the file manually in this case?
Where can we find the contact of the Partner Manager?

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